Earlier today I saw a story from the HSUS demonizing the Canadian government for the gruesome and barbaric slaughtering of baby seals. A video documenting some of the killings off the east coast sickened me and literally brought me to tears. (It was just too horrible to include a link on this site, so I decided to write about it instead.) How could such inhumane actions be warranted, simply for the fur? In the photo and videos I’ve seen, the poor beautiful seal pups look longingly at the hunters as they thrust their club up in the air like a golfer preparing to tee off. It’s awful! Seal pups are dying regardless due to global warming and lack of sea ice…there’s no reason to kill even more.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has not only allowed the seal hunt to continue despite depressed prices, a lack of buyers for the furs, and left-over stock from previous years, it is now allowing sealers to slaughter more than 50,000 animals than they did in 2009 – nearly 330,000! If met, this would represent more than 5 percent of the estimated North American harp seal population.
While I understand that fishermen need to make a living, I just can’t see that as an excuse for these actions. There are other ways to survive in the industry than killing seal pups with clubs and guns. After reading more, I am convinced that more nations need to pass bans on Canadian seal products just like Europe has.
Read more and decide for yourself, but if you see the HSUS video on YouTube, I’m sure you’ll think twice.
- Canada’s seal hunt sends a different message about the Olympic nation
- Baywatch actress seeks seal hunt info
- East Coast seal hunt quota increases despite very poor ice conditions
- Despite mild winter and few hunters, seal pups face threats
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